The present invention relates generally to crimping tools and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for crimping a cap onto a container.
Some specialty beverage containers, such as those sold under the product designation "PARTY BALL" by ADOLPH COORS COMPANY, of Golden, Colorado, are capped by operators using hand-held cap attachment devices known in the industry as "crimping tools" or simply "crimpers". A crimper bends an axially extending skirt portion of a container cap around a flange portion of a container neck to secure the cap to the container. Crimpably attachable container capping assemblies are described in applicant's commonly assigned copending application Ser. No. 450,924 filed Dec. 14, 1989, and entitled CLOSURE ASSEMBLY FOR PRESSURIZED PLASTIC BEVERAGE CONTAINER, which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference for all that it discloses.
Prior art crimping tools include those sold by Johnson Enterprises, Inc., of 220 North 4th Street, Rockford, Ill., 61107, under model designation T-BS-021. Such tools are relatively complex and have many individual moving parts including multiple individual "jaw" or "finger" members. Such prior art crimpers require frequent adjustment because of tool wear and other tolerance-effecting variations inherent in a design with numerous moving parts. A related problem is that cleaning and other maintenance operations for such crimpers are relatively expensive due to the time required to disassemble and reassemble complex mechanical assemblies. Yet another problem with prior art crimpers has been that rubber or other elastomeric sealing members have been employed. Such elastomeric members are more subject to wear than metal members and are also more difficult to clean. A need thus exists for a crimping tool which overcomes these problems of the prior art.